I just wish RTD had shown that. It would have made a much more satisfying conclusion. The end of the Time Lords could have been shown as a release, showing him that his decision to destroy them first time around was the right one and allowing him to move on without guilt.
I spent a lot of time wishing RTD's DW stories were just a bit less ambiguous, just a bit clearer, but I've come to the conclusion that this just isn't how he wanted to tell them. The ambiguity is deliberate; he doesn't want clear-cut, satisfying conclusions. The end of Love and Monsters is exemplary, really. The terrible and the wonderful and how it's all mixed up and part of the same thing - life.
Besides, I think what the Doctor did ending the Time War is something so enormous that it's impossible to ever move on from it without guilt. I think Ten always knew the decision was... maybe not the right one, but certainly the necessary one, he just kept struggling against a universe that made such decisions necessary and gave him nothing in return, except more pain and loss. It's the same with Jack in CoE - killing Stephen was ultimately the... again, it's almost impossible to call it the right decision, but while it was necessary, it was also something terrible to do, and Jack will probably never get rid of the guilt.
I spent a lot of time wishing RTD's DW stories were just a bit less ambiguous, just a bit clearer, but I've come to the conclusion that this just isn't how he wanted to tell them. The ambiguity is deliberate; he doesn't want clear-cut, satisfying conclusions. *nods a lot*
I also like your distinction between 'right' and 'necessary', which is absolutely spot-on.
I spent a lot of time wishing RTD's DW stories were just a bit less ambiguous, just a bit clearer, but I've come to the conclusion that this just isn't how he wanted to tell them. The ambiguity is deliberate; he doesn't want clear-cut, satisfying conclusions. The end of Love and Monsters is exemplary, really. The terrible and the wonderful and how it's all mixed up and part of the same thing - life.
Besides, I think what the Doctor did ending the Time War is something so enormous that it's impossible to ever move on from it without guilt. I think Ten always knew the decision was... maybe not the right one, but certainly the necessary one, he just kept struggling against a universe that made such decisions necessary and gave him nothing in return, except more pain and loss. It's the same with Jack in CoE - killing Stephen was ultimately the... again, it's almost impossible to call it the right decision, but while it was necessary, it was also something terrible to do, and Jack will probably never get rid of the guilt.
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*nods a lot*
I also like your distinction between 'right' and 'necessary', which is absolutely spot-on.
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